The present invention relates to a cutting tool having at least one cutting edge for chip removing maching comprising a substrate and at least a first layer at least partly covering the substrate. A photon-emitting material or a photon-absorbing material is provided to be exposed during wear of the first layer.
The tool life of a cutting edge is estimated with regard to ability to meet specific requirements, such as maintenance of dimensioned tolerances, surface quality and satisfactory chip breaking. When the cutting edge of the tool no longer meets these requirements the life of the tool is reached and it should be replaced.
A cutting edge is considered to be worn out when it ceases to produce a product with the wanted quality requirements, i.e. when it ceases to produce the necessary surface quality, the dimensional tolerance etc. on the work piece.
Practical experience has hitherto been the only available guidance determining to which extent wear is acceptable before interrupting the machining. Furthermore it has been time-consuming to measure crater wear on the rake face of the tool.
The present invention relates to a cutting tool which is constructed such that wear damages can be detected and determined in a simple way, manually or automatically. A good control of the condition of the tool reduces the risk for tool breakages and reduces the risk for producing defective work pieces.